Tribulation: The Curse of the Tails Doll
by ZeroBeatXII
Summary: A boy is devastated upon finding the remains of his best friend. Paranoia sets in as he becomes obsessed with escaping with his life, haunted by a hellish doll
1. 8th December: The Doll Emerges

I need to spread the word.

I once lost a close friend of mine; we had known each other since before I could remember. Before he was gone, his most noticeable attribute was that he was a big Sonic fan - I mean BIG. He collected all of the games, and his obsession towards Sonic was only surpassed by his love of the character Tails. He had scruffy blonde hair, wore glasses, and was often wearing a green jumper with a hood. As the years pass, his image starts to blur more and more within my head. I cant remember his eyes, or even the way he spoke. I am afraid of forgetting a friend, but I am equally scared that along with him Ill forget my reason to fight.

It was early December and, thanks to global warming, it was raining instead of  
snowing. The dull ticking of the clock hung over my head, reaching 7.30pm. Lying motionless on the bed, I was transfixed by the falling rain. The ringing of my phone woke me out of my trance, it was him again.

I got up to ride to his house, got my shoes on, my coat, and my hat.  
Then the phone rang.

"Yeah, I'm on my way" I said, but there was no reply. There was a faint sound and I  
had to listen hard to hear anything, but all I could make out was:

_"Can you feel the sunshine?"_

"Dude, its raining," I replied and went on my way.

The house had an unexplainable quality to it, it didn't look the same. As I walked closer to the front door, it emotionless windows loomed over me and filled me with a feeling of dread. I could tell something was not right as soon as I entered the house, the lights were off and no one responded to my yells. Then his house was completely empty, but why was the door unlocked? Why had he called me over if his house was abandoned? I cautiously climbed the stairs to the second floor, I was becoming worried for my friends well being. But, as I got closer to his room, my mind was selfishly filled with worries for my own well being. The eerie red glow from behind his door guided me across the landing. I found myself tripping over alot of object, but I felt it best not to look down out of fear what I was to find. Finally, I entered the room to find my friend  
sitting on the floor, staring at the screen.

He was playing Sonic R.

Although playing is an overstatement. He was at the start line. Not moving. Playing  
as the Tails Doll.

"Your controller broke?" I said, unable to keep my voice from trembling. "Hey!" I shouted.  
No answer.  
"Where are your parents? What's wrong with you?" I yanked him around to face me and was shocked beyond belief. His eyes where gone - they had been replaced with beads. Engraved into his skull was something so strange I cant put into words even today. The image haunts my dreams whenever I close my eyes, his lifeless body slumped on the floor covered in his own blood. I couldn't get my head around the fact he was dead. It was undoubtedly him, yet it lack his charisma, his enthusiasm. I needed him to smile at me and tell me this was a sick joke; but I never saw him smile again.

The crescent moon hung in the night sky; its light escaped the curtains and hit my friend with an sickening white light. The wind blew heavily through the window as I fell to my knees. I was weak, still am. I was barely able to handle my dogs death, and this hit me like nothing I had ever felt before. Feelings of shock, sadness, anger, despair, and utter hopelessness rushed through my body; escaping through my eyes as tears streaming down my face. I slowly stood up and made my way to the phone;

_Gotta get help, gotta find someone to help_

As soon as my foot hit the landings wet carpet the light came back to life. For the first time I saw what I had tripped over on the way into the room.  
Several tails dolls lay limp on the floor, their beady eyes cut through me like a knife. I was frozen, I could move my legs, and they kept staring their unblinking stare. I started to tremble again, blood was splattered across the wall as the black eyes stood fixated on me; as if saying

_You're next._


	2. Continued: Nightmare

Twilight had long since came when I had set off. My mind couldn't seem to decide whether or not it had been merely seconds or long tormented years since then.

Leaning against the closed door of my dead friend, I slide down to the floor; I was at about eye level for the dolls. Dead...  
It hurts, even now; to write, to say, to even think about what horror surrounds me.

The lights flickered, blurring the image upon my eyes. I was lost, physically and emotionally. I was afraid to look directly at the eyes of the many dolls that surrounded me. I knew they were just dolls, but they were horrific. Lying limp and lifeless, coated with my friends fresh blood. My mind played tricks on me, thinking I had seen one blink I finally looked at one directly. Staring deep into the dolls beady eyes, I felt the crushing weight of remorse and of fear lift ever so slightly. I felt as if I was falling into a trance, everything around me became so obscure. I couldn't even register anything else, It was just this doll and I; distraught and weak. I found myself falling into the darkness that were its eyes; I felt as if I was about to lose conciseness.

_You friend is dead_

I woke up from the trance immediately; all feelings that were fading from me came rushing back. Panic in particular. I jumped to my feet and looked down upon the dolls. I half expedited them to jump upon me, force me down to the floor again, and kill me. But they lay there, staring their everlasting stare. A cold wave of fear ran up my entire body; first things first, get out of the god forsaken house; figure out the rest later. I tip toed around the dolls, making sure not to even brushed against their soft fur. Ignoring the occasional gruesome sounds that echoed around me after each step, I made it to the stairs. I found myself surprisingly worn out from just that small experience.

I made my way down; the horrible darkness wrapped around me and clung tight. I gave a sigh of relief as I reached the bottom of the stairs; a quick surveillance I could see a hellish red glow omitting from a room to my left. It was oddly alluring, less so almost immediately when I noticed dark red stains leading into the room. Claw marks had reduced the door to a weak piece of wood; blocking something I cannot explain. It started off slow, like a mummer; but soon grew louder and louder. Screams of agony emitted from with the round, echoing around the house. They kept getting louder and louder, I clasped my hands over my ears to block the terrifying screeching; I felt like I was going insane. I forced myself past any trace feelings of curiosity. Seeing the door waiting in front of me, with a hopeful blue light shining from beyond, I closed my eyes and ran towards it. I had not seen the bodies of my friend's parents, and I was desperate to keep it that way. I barged through the door and into the wide garden outside. The street was entirely dark save for the orange dim of nearby street lights. Breathing in vast amounts of cold air, I tried to yell for help. Yet not a sound escaped me.

Before I had a chance to try again, a sharp pain erupted from deep within my chest; a heart attack? I fell on all fours, and began gasping desperately for more air. The surroundings around me became darker and darker. In a last effort I gathered all my remaining effort in an attempt to yell for help.

Then everything became completely dark.

I felt the indents of the door rub against my back. Opening my eyes I saw myself once again on the second floor of my friend's house. All the dolls. They were staring right at me. Sat up right. As if they were looking at me with contempt.  
But the first one I saw was upon my chest, not an inch from my face.  
I could see the look of horror reflected deep within its demonic black eyes.


	3. Continued: Attacked

They cut me deep, the Dolls eyes, capturing the pain its sickly black eyes.  
The situation was much too insane to be thought of at that moment, the house was hell and I needed to live. Failing to keep my breath steady I stood up and allowed, whatever it really was, fall slowly to the ground. Allowing my eyes to get accustomed to the absence of light, I soon noticed the increase in the number of dolls. I didn't like my chances of trudging through the limp lifeless dolls, especially as their eyes kept upon me; as always. My stomach lurched as I backed into my friend's room, I was tempted to keep my eyes closed as I entered to avoid seeing what used to be him; but I couldn't even bring myself to blink in front of the dolls. It didn't feel safe.

The silhouette of my friend's empty body cast a long shadow that stretched across the room; illuminated by the dull flickering of the TV screen. I could almost squint my eyes and pretend he had fallen asleep playing video games again, but the way his body was slumped forward lifelessly. There was something unnatural about it; I couldn't bring myself to look at him for more than a few seconds. I reached for the light switch but felt a disgustingly wet liquid covered my finger tips. How had this happened? I couldn't help but wonder how the house had become coated in blood; leading the image of the red room flashing in my mind's eye, as did the thought that I had yet to see his parents. Feeling considerably more nauseous, I pushed forward.  
_Get to safety then get help, get to safety then get help  
_It didn't feel good, but I was no help to him or is family now; the only way I could make a difference was to live past the night and contact the police. That was all.

He had a large window directly in front of the door leading into his room; allowing me to make out the glow of the street lights that basked the cul de sacs street orange. It certainly seemed like the only way out; I concluded in a desperate attempt to convince myself that if I didn't jump, I'd end up dead. The cool breeze penetrated the room as I wedged open the latch; sitting on the window sill. It was comforting, and allowed me to forget for a second the horror of what was behind me. Looking down upon the unkempt garden and the solid concrete, I admit to getting cold feet. In an attempt to  
stall, I started to analyze exactly what was going on.  
My friend had been slaughtered, his parents probably have too.  
The house was not containing something normal. The vision I had, the horrifying red glow, and I couldn't forget the blood.  
Looking at my watch it was around midnight, the deaths must have occurred before I got to the house, and after I got his call. That was a 20min gap at around 8. Why hadn't the police arrived by now? No one called? The beads, the antenna, the blood; I found it hard to believe that no noise had been made.  
_The beads.  
_The cool wind picked up._  
The antenna._  
Blowing even harder. I could barely hear myself think.  
_The Doll.  
_"The Tails Doll!" I exclaimed as the wind became so strong it started to make me lose my balance. It was the doll; from his game. But... why? And how did it manage to-

_"I thought you were going to jump"_

I can't remember who said that, or even how they said it. But I know someone did;  
and I swear to God I was pushed.  
I did not jump. I felt the pressure hit my back hard and I flew out of the window. I attempted to land on my feet, but concrete hit hard and I heard a loud CRACK. Falling head first in agony, my head bashed severely upon the curb.  
I felt my warm blood soak into my hair, my vision went blurry and I felt as if someone was whispering near me. I tried to look up to see who did this, but I lost consciousness long before I gathered the energy. 


	4. 11th December: Awakening

I saw images; dark and disturbing figures haunting my mind.  
My mind fell from the emptiness of pitch black darkness to pain in a hellish red torture  
Twisted shapes and distressing memories dangled in front of me, my friends corpse hanging in front of me; mocking me with the mystery of it all, and the sadness that erupted from deep within my chest.  
I wasn't conscience yet I was more awake than ever.  
A soft buzz began as soothing but escalated to irritating.

I awakened from my deep nightmare, staring up at a buzzing light watching me from above. For a few peaceful seconds I genuinely believed that it was all a fabrication, yet it just made the horrible realisation all the more crushing.  
But I couldn't allow myself to dwell on the pain; it hurt more so than my head. Giving a heavy grunt I lifted myself up to gain my bearings. The room was claustrophobic, only room for one other abandoned bed to fill the empty space. The bleak gray light of the outside world escaped through the closed blinds, barely illuminating the plain white walls yet noticeably changing the dynamic of the room to be more abysmal than any room should be.  
I was at a loss at what to do, but lying there felt wrong, I needed to move least Death turn up to finish the job. The intense pain that burned the back of my head underneath my bandages but it was the least of my troubles.  
Struggling to my feat I was surprised to find I had missed an obtuse item sitting upon a chair facing then end of my bed. It was a dark red box with a lime green bow tied around it. It was striking as being surprisingly vibrant in such a soul crushing environment. Pausing, I suddenly found myself contemplating where this present had come from as the hospital seemed stone silent. Limping to the box I flipped over the attached tag;

_To Adam, _

Curiosity flowed through my body and took over my actions, I quickly tore open the "present" and looked through the contents. Within were fresh new clothes presumably with the intention to change into out of my hospital gown. But what was more curious was what sat atop these clothes; a badge with a golden emblem of a pair of headphones and an old key. The old key appeared to come from a Hotel with a large tag reading "130". It didn't make any sense, and the fact somebody had left these "gifts" behind disturbed me. Trying to figure out what had happened I remembered the tag. Cursing my impatience, I quickly grabbed the message off the ground and read frantically.

_Dear Adam,  
My, my, you're lucky to be alive! Don't underestimate the power of coincidence because it just saved your life.  
Now I'm sure you're quiet dazed, but rest assured the faster you move the less it'll bother you. You've got till the 12__th__ to get over here, that's all I can offer at the moment.  
I've left a few tools to help you achieve this, the rest I'm afraid is up to you.  
That is of course if you want to avenge your dear friend's life.  
See you soon,_

_ZERO_


	5. The Forgotten Room

Every second it took to put on my new clothes felt like an hour wasted; my injured head slowed my progress, but memories of my friend spurred me on through the pain. Lifting the hood of the jacket to conceal my face in darkness, I picked up the hotel key with one hand and pinned the small headphones insignia to my sleeve with the other. By no means was I stealthy person, which was why I was extremely grateful for my luck; not running into doctors or patients as I made my way to the fire exit.

Walking down the claustrophobic stairwell, I could make out the small whispers of those confined to their beds. The squeaking of hospital doors as they were opened, followed by large bangs of them slamming shut was unsettling against the murmurs that echoed against the small confined walls that encased me as I descended the stairs. What floor had I been on? The staircase seems to go on forever. Floor after floor I lost track of how many I went through as I trekked deeper and deeper. It's funny how the mind plays tricks on you; the walls murmurs surrounded me constantly yet only the most sinister words (presumably out of context) were the ones I noticed.  
_Cut...  
Pain...  
Tear it open...  
Suffering...  
Died...  
Almost like murder...  
Hate...  
...The Tails Doll  
_I stopped.  
My heart started to beat fast and faster. The doll I had seen... it had two tails. Was that its name?  
It was unmistakable; I had not imagined it. I stared towards the sickeningly blank walls; beads of sweat emerged on my forehead and rolled down my face.

What was with this hospital? Why hadn't I seen any Doctors?  
No, no. I'm just being paranoid... I've hurt my head...  
Not wanting to think about it a second longer I set off at increased pace to reach the exit as soon as possible. I won't lie, I panicked. I heard noises and allowed my mind to twist them into the most disturbing thought I could.

The horrible noise of a patient being tortured by their doctors seeped through the solid walls.  
_No, they're in a hospital. Of course they're in pain.  
_

A terrible, repeating squeaking noise emerged. The painfully sharp jingling of murderous knives colliding with one another was faint but explicit.  
_No, just a nurse or someone transporting operational tools. That's all..._

__The walls exploded by the screaming of a man being horrifically beaten to death  
_N-No! Probably a broken arm being put back in place, or some kind of operation... right?  
_The screaming continued._  
No  
No  
NO!  
_My jogging erupted into a sprint; I was running from myself, I just wanted it to escape. My breathing got harder and harder, where was the exit? _Where?_

The outside world was calm and quiet, nothing but the rustling of the leaves could be heard. That was, until I charged head first through the fire exits doors. I welcomed the pain that stung my skin as I landed upon the warm concrete. For a moment I just lay there, breathing so heavily, letting my cold body embrace the heated ground. A cold breeze woke me from my trance, picking myself up I noticed that the sun was preparing to set. For a second I felt uneasy, I had until the 12th to meet Zero, and not only did I not know where he was, but I didn't even know how much time I had left.

That was when my eyes caught a isolated building half hidden by the trees, a building in the distance facing the hospital with a worn away sign I could make out saying "HOTEL". The old key I got in the gift box...  
It was a long shot, but it was the only lead I had, the only choice I could make was to make my way to the old building. My head was starting to hurt again so it was fortunate that the distance was not great. By the time I had made it to the other side of the trees the sky became bleached red by the suns last escaping light as it disappeared past the horizon.

The building itself was decrepit, yet quite remarkable. It had clearly been abandoned for a significant amount of time; the bricks that comprised the building were weathered and ruined, with ivory crawling up the side of the aged walls. Indeed, it was a marvel that the building was still standing; and I had to question Zeros logic in wanting to meet here.

Pushing open the heavy doors let out a large screech, and entering the building sent chills down my spine; the reception counter was empty, abandoned, yet the whole area held a sense of foreboding. I made my way to the first floor via an elegant staircase, ruined by the large amount of dust that became unsettled with each step I took. Reaching the top of the staircase I let out a small sigh of relief that I didn't fall through any of the steps; then lifted my head to see room 130 at the end of the corridor.

The clicking of the lock confirmed to me that I was at the right place. Letting out a second sigh of relief, I cautiously entered the room. It was like any other hotel room I had been to, albeit a lot dustier and slightly unnerving. The deep red sunset entered through the window, illuminating the room; there was a tall wardrobe towering over the rest of the room in the corner, facing the end of the double bed was a vanity drawer, a single crack splitting the mirror into two, and a smaller door to the right of the large window, probably leading into an ensuite that hadn't had any visitors in a long time. Everything was coated in dust and spider webs, a room truly forgotten.

I found myself thinking about my friends room; did anyone know what had happened there? I got a mental image of the T.V, still burned with the image of the Tails Doll staring out at a room full of dust. The body of my friend lay slumped in front of the image, spider webs stretching from the chipped wooden floor to his face. He slowly began to lift his head...

A sharp twinge of pain erupted from beneath my bandages, waking from my vision. Lying on the bed I had no thoughts of why I was there nor what I was doing, I was tired and I just needed to rest. Just to sleep off my pain...  
...

"Hey"

The sudden presence of another human being woke me; how long had I been asleep?

"Come on! Wake up!"

It took a moment for vision to regain focus; when it did I was faced with a guy roughly a few years older than myself, standing in the doorway, looking down at myself.

"There we go" He said, a smug smile spreading across his face "Nice to meet you, I'm Zero"


End file.
